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Military History – South Africa – Europe – England 19th Century
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.Page 47
cavalry were quickly shown to be ill-suited to the style of war being fought. They carried out a
charge at the Battle of Elandslaagte, using the lance, but that was almost the last classic cavalry
charge in history. Their duties as scouts and flanking forces continued, but the knock-out blow to the
Boer siege of Kimberley, the long, fast out-flanking ride to relieve the town, killed or injured most of
the heavy horses they used. Thus, by the end of February 1900, the cavalry as such was a spent force.
The artillery were present in small numbers at the start of the war, and had to be supplemented
with guns provided by the Royal Navy on improvised carriages. The Royal Field Artillery employed
15-pounder breech-loading guns while the Royal Horse Artillery had the lighter 12-pounders. Both
fired shrapnel, shells that burst when a time fuse acted, hurling out metal balls. The Field Artillery
also had 5-inch howitzers which fired common shells, that is, shells filled with explosive. Lyddite
had just been introduced but the high hopes regarding its effectiveness were not realised, and it was
replaced after the war with TNT. The PomPom, the 37mm Maxim-Vickers used by the Boers, was
soon adopted and fifty of them were sent out from England during the war. Approximately 115 guns,
including obsolete ones, were in the British artillery’s hands at the start of the war and some 570
were sent out during the conflict.
The infantry were, initially, regular soldiers with experience on garrison duties in outposts of the
Empire. Some had fought in the wars in north Africa and in India, mostly against poorly armed and
untrained irregulars. They were armed, as were the Boers, with modern high-velocity rifles, but had
never fought against men similarly armed. They were, for the most part, used to deploying in close
order, that is, in lines of men only a yard (0.9m) apart. The more experienced commanders, such as
Lieutenant-general Lord Methuen, gave orders for a much more extended deployment, six or ten times
more spacious, and others soon learned that this was vital against modern rifle fire. As the war
continued the men acquired greater respect for making use of cover from enemy view and enemy fire
and came to recognise the value of good marksmanship.
After the set-piece phase of the war and the last big battle at Bergendal in August 1900, the war
became more fluid, developing into guerrilla warfare. This demanded greater mobility on the part of
the British and Mounted Infantry became the core of the fighting service. Men were taken from
infantry regiments, volunteers came from Britain and the Empire and urgent training was undertaken.
In addition to being able to ride a horse, a man had to know how to look after his mount, maintain its
health and respect its strengths and weaknesses. Ignorance cost the army dear and two-thirds of the
half million horses died.
The Royal Navy also contributed to the land forces. Captain Percy Scott devised gun carriages
which were improvised to carry both 12-pounder and 4.7-inch guns that were used in Natal and the
north-eastern Cape, and the Naval Brigade fought with distinction as infantry at the Battle of
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